40 Best Places to Shop in Downtown and the Golden Square Mile, Montreal

This Canadian sports-and-yoga wear chain offers plenty of styles, colors, and cuts to please both guys and gals. You'll also find headbands, scarves, jewelry, and more.

Heading down Atwater Avenue toward Lachine Canal, you can't miss the art deco tower of Atwater Market. This is the best spot to pick up local produce, fresh flowers, and gourmet meats and cheeses. In summer, bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic by the canal or have a drink at the Canal Lounge, a café and bar on a barge. During the winter holidays there is now the added bonus of an outdoor Christmas market.

On the third level of the cavernous Ogilvy department store you'll find the highest quality furs and shearlings, including extravagant, colorful sheared beavers from Montréal's Zuki.Call ahead as there may be closures or disruptions while Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew merge.

The fashions here don't come cheap, but French-influenced owner Charles Abitbol believes in quality fashion for women of all ages. Abitbol sources funky and whimsical fashions for the younger set, as well as more classic pieces with clean lines from European, American, and local Québec designers such as Yumi, Sanctuary Clothing, Desigual, and Mélissa Nepton. The Fat Boy beanbag chairs may entice you to hang a while in the vast loftlike upstairs space, but like the Taschen design books and the colonial-inspired Québec and French-made furniture, these are also for sale. There's a second location at 433 rue Saint-Denis.

This cornerstone of Montréal's English-language literary scene carries the usual selection of mysteries and thrillers, but it also stocks a wide range of Canadian works. It's a favorite with visiting authors, who stop by to read from their latest releases. Sip on a coffee from the adjacent Second Cup coffee shop while you peruse the stacks.

Stylish shoppers head to the 80-plus retail outlets in Place Ville Marie, part of the city's vast underground network. New to the mall is Le Cathcart restaurants et biergarten, an upscale food hall and beer garden inside a glass pavilion. Also, as of December 2021, the Musée d'art contemporain has its temporary digs here while the museum building undergoes a renovation and expansion ( macm.org/en).

There are 60 shops at this complex directly beneath Christ Church Cathedral, including Canada's largest Linen Chest outlet, with hundreds of bedspreads and duvets, plus aisles of china, crystal, linen, and silver. The food court is spacious and comfortable.

Tucked away in the basement level of the Complexe Desjardins shopping mall, this outlet of the vast French-language book chain is chockablock with French and English books, magazines, and music.

Bring the great outdoors in, courtesy of this beloved Canadian chain with a beaver emblem. There are lots of casual neutrals for men, women, and kids, with pops of colorful sportswear thrown in for good measure. Quality leather goods are also available.

Tucked away on the lowest level of Place Montréal Trust lies this huge discount store stocked with clothing, shoes, housewares—you name it. Allow adequate time if you really want to rummage, but if you're not at leisure, head straight to the runway collections and the sale racks for the best bargains. The Alexis Nihon (Atwater métro) location, on the edge of Westmount, can also also be a good bet for snagging a deal on designer labels and Italian shoes.